After a brief blip due to an undisclosed injury, Leon Draisaitl has resumed his MVP season with two goals and four points in two wins since returning. On Tuesday, Zach Hyman joined the What Chaos! Podcast and offered some high praise for his superstar teammate.
“He’s amazing,” said Hyman. “I think he was underpaid on his deal for the longest time, probably the most underpaid player in the league. And I’m sure this [contract] is already aging pretty well considering he’s having probably his best season ever. Should be the runaway MVP in my opinion, but probably biased. But I see it every day, saw it against Calgary, like, what more can a guy do?”
Draisaitl is currently in the final season of his eight-year, $68 million deal and 2025-26 will be the first year of an eight-year, $112 million contract signed back in September. Despite cashing in big, the German pivot is pushing himself harder than ever — and his teammates are taking notice.
“We always joke he’s a pass-first 50-goal scorer,” said Hyman. “He’s scored 50 four times now and every year he has more assists than he has goals. I don’t know how many people can say that.”
The German superstar hit the 50-goal mark for the fourth time in his career last Sunday in the Battle of Alberta and added another in overtime as the Oilers beat the Flames 3-2. Now with 52 tucks, he leads the chase for his first Rocket Richard Trophy by a wide margin and sits third in total points with 105. Despite the continued accolades, Hyman says Draisaitl’s character shines beyond his on-ice capabilities.
“As a person, he’s just a great friend,” he said. “I think he’s got that European in him, where he’s very honest and that’s a great quality to have, you always know where you stand with Leo. He’s extremely loving and caring and just a great friend, always supporting.”
Illustrating that, Hyman referred back to his own 50-goal season, a mark he hit for the first time last year.
“I think when I scored my 50th, you can see him coming into the pile and just how excited he was for me,” shared Hyman. “It was awesome to be on the ice for his 50th this year. I was on the ice for his 50th against Anaheim a couple of years ago now, I think it might have been my first year … so between us, it’s been three times 50, whether it was me or him, which is pretty cool. And then on the ice, like I said, backhand passes that nobody can make, combined with just sharp shooting ability that nobody has.”
Perhaps no moment better demonstrates Draisaitl’s unreal talent and chemistry with his teammate than a backhander he sent from deep in the defensive zone to gift Hyman a breakaway goal against the Canucks earlier this season.
Asked about this moment, Hyman says it highlights just the type of guy Draisaitl is — unselfish and highly-skilled, adding his ability to battle for plays like that shows the fighter mentality in his game overall.
“Yeah, it was insane, from our own zone,” he said. “He goes out there and he’s a warrior. He battles through the craziest injuries through the playoffs. Every year, doesn’t matter, he’s fighting through it. Gotta hold him off the ice, like, he only stayed out a couple games because we made him.”
You can watch the full interview on the What Chaos! YouTube page.